Month: April 2015

Let me explain… my website recently received a search query asking how to remove a virus from a Nintendo Wii U. I did some digging and see that people have pretty much been asking questions about Wii U viruses since the system launched. I was able to put the pieces together and figure out what’s going on!

People state that they are receiving messages from Nintendo that their machine is infected. What you have received is a FAKE message. It may have either appeared in your web browser, some thing similar to this image:

just one example of many I could provide

Or it may have been delivered by a system message, like this one:

It’s important to know that both of these messages are fakes. One is a pop up ad on the internet, designed to trick computer users into buying fake antivirus programs, or downloading things which normally would infect a regular computer. These are just advertisements on the websites you are visiting, they are not genuine messages from the system itself. The second, “message type” warning is no different than a chain-letter, or forwarded email. It’s spam! It’s just a person with nothing better to do with their time than send these messages to random “friend codes” and usernames it has encountered in games or seen online. This is a mean spirited prank and nothing more, I promise you.

Think about it, when did you see the “virus” alert? Only when you were in the browser, nowhere else on the machine? That’s just because it loaded a page with a fake “alert” trying to make you think that your computer was infected. Or even if you received a message – do you think that if Nintendo wanted to alert you that your system was infected they would do it via the normal messaging system? Highly unlikely. That would be like your computer’s antivirus not alerting you, just sending you an email. I can even provide some more technical reasoning, below, but before I get to that, why not give you your own way to find peace of mind:

If you’re still convinced that you do have a problem, don’t take my word for it: check out Nintendo’s online support documents. A search for the word “virus” didn’t return a single result – but to ultimately put your mind at ease, you can contact support as well, and ask them about it.

It is generally accepted that there are no viruses on the Wii or Wii U because not enough is known about the Wii and Wii U architecture to exploit it with some kind of virus (in short, “Wii’s can’t run Windows “.exe” files). Even if you visit a web page that would infect your regular computer, it can’t infect the Wii U because they are designed to behave completely differently. While it is true that the same things that allow for homebrew applications to be installed on it, or pirated games downloaded to the old Wii are of course things that could potentially be used for evil, those communities are filled with people trying to help each other, not hurt each other. We should never say it’s completely impossible to get a virus, but it is just completely undocumented. There is no evidence of an actual virus being installed on one of these game consoles – only evidence of a message showing up on people’s screens (and almost only EVER in the Browser). That is not cause enough for concern. So relax and get back to your games!

Update 2: Although I have “WannaCry / WannaCrypt” specific patches below, in June of 2017 Microsoft released an additional collection of patches for Windows XP with SP3, Windows XP 64-bit with SP2, and Windows Server 2003. I have not (yet) mirrored these updates locally, but I think it is important to link readers to these critical security patches. Microsoft specifically noted that these updates do not check Windows Genuine Advantage status.

Original post below:

As we well know, Microsoft has stopped support for Windows XP – so much so that you can no longer connect to Windows Update and download updates for Windows XP computers. If for some maniacal reason you need to run a Windows XP computer, I would hope you at least get it secured as best you can with the updates. How you ask? I have compiled all of the updates using the WSUSOffline.net tool, and assembled them here Continue reading →

Update: Almost 2 years after I wrote this article, it remains one of the most popular on the website, so I put together a brief video explaining what is written below, for the more visual learners out there. Enjoy! 🙂

Original post below:

When you’re initially setting up a router, one of the things you might skip over is the DHCP Lease Time setting. It’s typically measured in minutes, but how long should it be set for? What are the advantages or disadvantages of longer or shorter lease times?

In the average home router, your lease time is set for about 24 hours (1440 minutes). Some people set 8 hour leases, some prefer up to a week! The DHCP lease is how long a device reserves an IP address on your network. The DHCP reservation is the key. The device can leave the network, but the reservation can still be in place, depending on how long you set the lease time.

I recently came across the need to play video files saved as .264. After much digging, it seemed I wasn’t alone – and the most common users of these files were people who recently purchased security cameras and were trying to open the video files saved on Micro SD cards from their cameras! You would think an H.264 video codec wouldn’t be so hard to find, but for some reason nothing I tried allowed me to play the file. After some additional research, I found that the company Zmodo is the most common camera manufacturer to do this, and they provide a download of their Zmodo Player software. On the page I link to, as it appears currently, you don’t need to choose an analog or a network product, just look below at the list of “popular tools” and download the ZMD Player / ZPlayer software.

The Backorder was a feature I started in 2009. It was a way for me to declutter my list of games I need to play. For the last three years, I have been playing fewer and fewer “contemporary” games. For the last 18 months or so, I have been “in transition” – the majority of my possessions in boxes. I recently had the terrifying yet fulfilling experience of purchasing a home of my own. I’ll be paying on it for many years, but unboxing and settings things up, pulling out sealed game after sealed game the I still need to play – it’s lit another fire. The backorder list is HUGE, but I’ll be making my way through it sooner, rather than later. Not only contemporary games, but other gems I have picked up in the last few years and just tucked away, or PC games I’ve picked up on digital sales.

My back order list is as follows:

Gears of War Judgment – Xbox 360

Portal 2 – Steam

New Super Luigi U – Wii U

Spider-Man – Atari 2600

Uncharted 3 – Playstation 3

7th Guest – Steam

11th Hour – Steam

The Walking Dead (Telltale) Season 1 – 400 days – Xbox 360

The Walking Dead (Telltale) Season 2 – Xbox 360

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze – Wii U

Halo 2600 – Atari 2600

Bioshock Infinite – Steam

Wario Land – Virtual Boy

Grand Theft Auto V – Xbox 360

Perfect Dark – Nintendo 64

Castle in the Darkness – Steam

Not to mention all of the Xbox 360 GAMES WITH GOLD promotional downloads that came out in the last year or so, or other games that I would be interested in catching up on like The Witcher series of games. On top of that, the plans I have are finally moving forward for more content coming soon! But first, I’m going to POWER through these games as quickly as possible!